Euro Moto Supersport: Lennox Lehmann prefers clean overtaking manoeuvres

Lennox Lehmann also finished on the podium at the fourth round of the Euro Moto series – the successor to the IDM – following the Supersport class races: he came third at both the season opener at the Sachsenring and in Brno, followed by second-place finishes in Most – where only one race was counted following Marcel Brenner’s crash – and last weekend at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The Dresden-based rider was once again unable to secure a victory, although he came closer in the second race than at any other point this year.

After championship leader Dirk Geiger – who is also Lehmann’s team-mate in the Dutch Apreco - Yamaha – had to start from the pit lane after switching to his third engine of the year, Lehmann’s chances of victory on Sunday naturally increased, especially as he had beaten the championship contender Daniel Blin – who had already won four times – the day before. In the race itself, he led for most of the way and right up until the third-last corner. Then the Pole launched his final attack on his Ducati and clinched his fifth win of the season.

Lehmann stands by his statement

During the livestream interview with the top three finishers, Lennox Lehmann chose some pithy words when he said: “The race was good, the pace was good, I racked up plenty of kilometres in the lead. It’s a shame that, in the end, the only way to overtake was through contact. But if that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll start doing the same at Assen. Then we’ll have a good battle once I’m fit again.”

Although no contact is actually visible in the livestream in the media library, the 20-year-old stood by his statement the following day in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com and explained the situation in the following words. “Blin went inside on the left-hand corner at Shell S and then drifted wide. I accelerated past him again heading into Turn 13 and was, in my opinion, ahead of him because he’d hit the limiter. I then went into Turn 13 and my knee was already on the ground when I felt Blin’s front wheel hit my shoulder, so I had to swerve to avoid us both ending up on the ground. If I hadn’t swerved, we’d both have ended up on the ground. And I don’t think that was necessary. It could have been handled cleanly. But if that’s the way it’s going to be, then let’s all just go for a bit more physical contact.”

But if that’s the way it’s going to be, I’ll start doing it in Assen too.

Lennox LEHMANN

It should be noted, however, that race control took no action regarding the incident in question. Commenting on the tricky situation, he added: “I’m fairly certain he didn’t misjudge his braking, but deliberately cut in there; that it wasn’t an accident and he was just a bit too late on the brakes. Obviously, it was the final lap. Naturally, you try everything in a situation like that. It wasn’t grossly unfair – definitely not. But in my view, it could still have been done more cleanly. If I don’t play along, we’ll both end up in the dirt.”

As a sort of challenge, he also added: “Of course, I’ll keep trying to do it cleanly. But if, at Assen or whenever, a half-manoeuvre presents itself in the final laps, I’ll go for it and not back off.”

The first win is long overdue

Although Lehmann and Blin have been racing in the same class for a long time, the Saxon has otherwise had no bad experiences with his eastern neighbour. “I can’t really say for sure, because I haven’t been in a head-to-head battle with Blin that often. Last year I was simply too slow. Things went so badly back then that I couldn’t have been in a battle with him. This season, at Oschersleben, was the first time we’d had any battles. In the first race, Blin wasn’t close enough to me on the final lap to pull off a manoeuvre. (Dirk Geiger won the race quite comfortably ahead of Lehmann and Blin, editor’s note.) In the races before that, too, I was never really in a head-to-head battle with him. That’s why I can’t really form an opinion on it.”

Lennox Lehmann has already secured four second places this season, plus three more second-place finishes. Is a win still on the cards this year? “Yes, we’ve already bagged every podium finish so far, apart from a win. Of course, the plan is to go on the attack again at Assen. First and foremost, it’s important that we get my finger – which was injured at Suzuka – back to full fitness. The fact that Dirk had to start from the pit lane did make things a bit easier. It wouldn’t have been a gift of a win, by any means. But the best-case scenario would be for everyone to be fully fit and for us to win. A hard-fought victory would be the best-case scenario.”

Notwithstanding everything said so far, Lennox Lehmann is ‘… absolutely delighted’ with his season so far. You can’t complain about that. But of course, when you realise you’re competitive and can be in the running for wins and podium places, it’s extremely frustrating when you don’t quite make it over the line and win. That’s definitely the case. Of course it would have been nice to win the second race at Oschersleben, but ultimately that didn’t make much difference to me, because we can be really pleased with the progress we’ve made from last year to this year. But naturally, you always want more and you want to win. I mean, that’s what the sport’s all about – you’re never satisfied unless you win.”

Of the last three rounds of the season – Assen, the Nürburgring and Hockenheim – he doesn’t see any track that particularly suits him, that he particularly likes, or that he finds particularly difficult.